B.C. wildfire doubles in size, forces dozens from their homes

A fire in the North Okanagan, the latest B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) designated wildfire of note, forced dozens to evacuate their homes Tuesday afternoon.

The Hullcar Mountain wildfire near Vernon doubled from 3.3 square kilometres on Tuesday afternoon to 6.7 square kilometres on Wednesday morning. 

On Tuesday evening, the Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) issued an evacuation order for 17 properties on the east side of Salmon River Road and the west side of Deep Creek Road.

Local traffic is open in the evacuation order area of Salmon River Road. A detour is available through Yankee Flats. 

An expanded evacuation also alert has been issued in the area Wednesday, including 25 properties on the east side of Salmon River Road and on the west side of Deep Creek Road, according to the CSRD website. The CSRD says people in the area should prepare for a possible evacuation. 

The Spallumcheen and the Splatsin First Nations have also issued evacuation orders and alerts in response to the fire.  

The BCWS declared the Hullcar Mountain area a wildfire of note, meaning it is highly visible and a potential threat to public safety.

B.C. wildfire information officer Taylor Shantz says 51 personnel were working on the fire on Wednesday.

She says the southeast corner of the blaze is the most active and has been the focus of helicopters and water-skimmer planes working to "knock back fire lines."

As of Wednesday afternoon, it was one of more than 340 wildfires in the province. 

Officials say lightning, the largest cause of wildfires in B.C., is suspected.

Some evacuation orders lifted

On Wednesday afternoon, the Penticton Indian Band downgraded its evacuation order in response to the Lower Blue Mountain wildfire to an alert. Chief Greg Gabriel told CBC News Tuesday that this order affected around 100 people. 

The BCWS also considers the 0.46-square-kilometre blaze to be under control, which means it's unlikely to spread beyond the current perimeter. 

Other areas of B.C. have seen evacuation orders dropped to alerts, including Argenta Creek on Tuesday afternoon. 

The Regional District of Central Kootenay's emergency operations centre downgraded the order for 116 properties south of Duncan Dam Lookout Road and Argenta-Johnsons Landing Road. However, east of Dundan and Argenta Johnsons Landing roads remain under an evacuation order. The fire started July 18, and over 180 square kilometres have burned. 

An evacuation order and alert are still in effect for the Dogtooth wildfire near Golden, where more than 50 square kilometres have burned since July 22. The BCWS says rain and thunderstorms are expected until Friday afternoon, and clear skies are forecast for the weekend. 

Hot, dry conditions continue 

Thunderstorms pose a threat during wildfire season, CBC science specialist Darius Mahdavi said. 

"Lightning is the most straightforward to understand — lightning means new fire starts, so the more concentrated the lightning, the more concerning the storm," Mahdavi said. 

But there is another piece most people don't think about, Mahdavi said, which is wind. 

"Thunderstorms typically bring strong, gusty winds that allow fires to become a lot more aggressive and spread much more easily," he wrote. "This can happen with little to no warning, making it all the more dangerous." 

This week, most lightning activity is expected to be concentrated in the southeast and along the Coast Mountains, Mahdavi said.